They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

Seemingly not quite understanding what we were arguing about, Chu Guyin tilted her head and asked.

This question turned the previously somewhat harmonious atmosphere into a subtly sinister one.

"...No, thank you for your invitation, senior."

I glanced at An Yu. This somewhat stiff and cold rejection was very unlike her usual style.

"Senior An Yu is so popular, she must already have her own club, right? If I go on to study at Linwai next year, I will definitely join your club."

For everyone else except me, my sister is like glue. Even in this moment of awkward silence, she stepped up—my sister is great, no further explanation needed.

I took a sip of my drink.

"I've made up my mind. How about I make you treat me to this meal instead of paying me back?"

"What? Such a simple little thing."

An Yu muttered. Although the atmosphere hadn't completely improved, at least they had escaped the somewhat stagnant atmosphere.

"Then I'll go pay right now. Hmph, the compensation for the cute girl has turned into the cost of a meal. Don't regret it, okay?"

"I regret it so much. After I pay, could you please wear a maid outfit and say 'Master, please' to me respectfully?"

"I won't tell!!" An Yu fled in panic.

"Um, I'll go with you, Senior An Yu. Senior Chu Guyin, can I pay for you first?"

"Um... I can... go with you..."

“My sister is a big fan of yours, so please give her an excuse to add you as a friend,” I said to Chu Guyin with a smile.

Chu Guyin blinked at Ning Ruoxin's smile, then nodded gently.

"Well... thank you..."

……

"I feel a little awkward."

After saying goodbye to the two campus idols, Ning Ruoxin and I walked back to our rented apartment.

Her school seems to have a social studies exam tomorrow, and they're giving her a day off to use it as an exam venue. Our parents are letting her stay at my place for the night, partly to avoid the hassle of traveling, and partly to see if I'm behaving properly.

Unfortunately, the family group chat where this matter was discussed had been blocked by Ning Ruoyu long ago, which is why there was such an information asymmetry.

"The awkwardness here doesn't refer to walking home with me, does it?" I joked self-deprecatingly.

"...You know perfectly well who I'm talking about." Perhaps because it was in private, Ning Ruoxin was no longer as polite and courteous as before, and she didn't even mention the term "brother" anymore.

Of course, I wasn't too disappointed. (Cool face in sunglasses)

"Well, I can understand to some extent the difference in how the two of us think, so it's not good to directly say which one is wrong or something like that."

"What I find even more suspicious is why you suddenly know so many outstanding senior students. And you get along so well with them." Ning Ruoxin looked at me suspiciously. "Using secrets to coerce others is illegal."

My clever sister seemed to grasp something even from just a few words—but because they were so fragmented, her conclusions seemed absurd and malicious. She also, incidentally, completely negated my character.

"Is this what our sibling relationship is like? I'm so heartbroken."

"It's precisely because of this sibling relationship that I don't want to acknowledge that I said this." Ning Ruoxin seemed even more troubled than I was. "You know, every time I hear about some of your actions at school, I feel…!"

"Whatever... it's always the same."

Although I really wanted to listen, unfortunately the journey home wasn't long enough.

Seeing the girl's somewhat frail figure in the night, I could only follow behind with a wry smile.

Then I heard heavy breathing coming from the room on the left.

No wonder they're college student special forces soldiers; they don't even have a CD for couples clapping.

[Next chapter preview: Even paramecia want a home.]

"Why are you always thinking only of yourself?"

"Ahaha, I see... By the way, you wouldn't happen to have the surname Ning, would you?"

"If you dare to talk about matters of the heart, I'll kill you."

"Hello, is Ning Ruoyu here?"

Chapter Six: Exposed!

Regarding the broadcast from next door, Ning Ruoxin and I reached a consensus without prior agreement—we both pretended not to hear it.

This is clearly not a topic that can be discussed with vampire relatives, especially given the obvious unfamiliarity between me and this "sister" in front of me, which could easily lead to accusations of sexual harassment.

Even paramecia want a home.

"I'll put these things in ice... Huh?"

While I was making tea, I was drawn in by the abruptly stopped conversation and leaned out to ask Ning Ruoxin, who was squatting on the ground.

"Is there a problem? There should still be some space in the refrigerator's freezer compartment."

"There is some space... Ning Ruoyu, you haven't hired any housekeeping services lately, have you? Those things are very expensive. Didn't I tell you before not to make decisions on your own?"

Ning Ruoxin frowned and said to me with dissatisfaction.

"Although your parents are unhappy that you're living alone on your own, they certainly don't want you to go hungry or cold. Aren't you taking the allowance they give you for granted?"

"Why can't I understand what you're saying?"

"You're not very good at cooking, are you? Then why are the things in the refrigerator completely different?" If what happened to me wasn't so bizarre, Ning Ruoxin's reasoning would actually be quite reasonable.

"Besides, the room is very clean, so we can only hire housekeeping services, right? If we spend money recklessly at the beginning and middle of the month, we'll end up asking our parents for extra living expenses, won't we? The rent and utilities every month are unnecessary expenses."

That statement is also correct. The house where Ning Ruoxin's parents live is only about half an hour away from Linwai High School by subway. The expense of renting the house was indeed the result of Ning Ruoyu's (original) sophistry.

"Calm down first, this is something I organized myself."

If this misunderstanding came from someone else, such as Hu Dan and An Yu, or even Chu Guyin, I probably wouldn't bother explaining this prejudice. But for this young girl who, as the younger sister, does the work of an older sister and worries about her mother's heart, I am indeed somewhat at a loss.

"Don't give me that. Last time you said you were eating properly, but you ended up spending half your allowance on a gift for a senior student, didn't you? And then you ate reheated rice with pickled vegetables for a week!"

Holy crap, is that true? I'm speechless. Ning Ruoyu (former), you're not just a simp, you're also a clown! What other surprises do you have up your sleeve that I don't know about?!

No, what's even more tragic is how you ended up having your sister find out about this?!

"Actually, I've somewhat turned over a new leaf. If I hadn't already eaten, I would have cooked to prove my innocence..." I sighed.

It's not that I can't make desserts like cakes in a rice cooker. But my research into dessert making is purely out of professional interest. I don't have many ingredients at home, so cooking without ingredients is beyond my capabilities.

"Ning Ruoyu".

However, this confession only earned Ning Ruoxin's utter disappointment.

"Why are you always thinking only of yourself?"

She spoke softly, but it sounded very heavy.

I am speechless.

The relationship between these two siblings is absolutely terrible.

We didn't continue the topic for the rest of the time. Ning Ruoxin lowered her head and silently finished tidying up the refrigerator, while I found a quilt in the cabinet and lay down on the sofa.

The next morning, when I heard Ning Ruoxin quietly close the door and leave, I, who had been pretending to be asleep, sat up from the sofa.

On the coffee table were several slices of toast heated in a frying pan and a fried egg, along with a piece of paper with delicate handwriting.

Remember to eat breakfast. I've taken the trash downstairs.

"Ah, hello."

Before I could even process what was happening, I heard Ning Ruoxin greeting someone at the door.

"Huh? You, hello..."

The other voice sounded somewhat surprised and hesitant.

“My brother lives here. Please forgive me if I have caused you any trouble in the past.” Perhaps realizing that the other party had misunderstood something, Ning Ruoxin explained politely, “He lives here alone. Please take care of him.”

"You're welcome. Let's help each other out." The person on the other end sounded friendly in response to the beautiful girl's request.

"Thank you! I've been worried that my brother might not have any friends in high school. If you could be friends with him..."

"Hey, didn't your brother already graduate from high school?"

"How could that be? He's only a freshman in high school. You and you should be students at the same school."

"No, no, he said it himself... Hey? Um, do you know me?"

"Yes. Wu Yuehua, the student council president of Linwai High School. I heard your name in junior high school too!"

"Ahaha, I see... By the way, you wouldn't happen to have the surname Ning, would you?"

"……Yes."

Ah, I guess I'll skip class again today.

Hiding in my room and listening to this conversation, I thought about it seriously and picked up my phone.

[Dear Teacher Lai, I am Ning Ruoyu from Class F. I would like to ask for leave today to handle some personal matters.]

【What's wrong? What happened? Is it serious? Should we call a teacher?】

It's nothing, it's just changing my name.

I see. If I don't see you at the morning meeting, I'll assume you skipped class.

What a cruel homeroom teacher who doesn't care about the lives of his students.

As I thought this, I felt a slight fear of the utter silence outside the door.

……

During the morning break, I was still completely ignored. Even though An Yu and Chen Di glanced at me a few times, in this classroom setting, they couldn't bring themselves to talk to me.

Although this kind of thing is a rare moment of leisure for me.

The next class seems to be English, which requires students to move between classes. Most people have already left in groups, and only a few people who have something urgent to do or are acting independently are still unmoved in the classroom.

I'm definitely here too, and right now I'm frowning as I look at the example problems in my physics book.

As a first-time high school student, can anyone answer the question that has been bothering me for over a month—is this the same level of difficulty as the homework?

Is it because I'm ignorant or is something really wrong with it? This pushing and pulling, and the force analysis, is it really the same thing as what's taught in the textbook?

I sighed in frustration, and just as I was about to reach into my bag to get my newly bought study guide, I saw my homeroom teacher next to me, smiling very gently.

"Ruoyu, are you studying?" She spoke cautiously, probably afraid of disturbing my thoughts.

"Hmm, there's something I didn't understand in class." Our class teacher is named Lai Ruhui. It's said that she hasn't been a teacher for very long, and most of the time the students in the class affectionately call her Xiao Lai.

Although it was somewhat rude, I'm genuinely worried about what kind of nickname she'll have when she gets older.

"Let me see? Ah, it's a physics problem, this..." Xiao Lai's face showed a hint of embarrassment. As a Chinese teacher, she probably wasn't very good at this kind of content.

"It's okay, I have the explanation here. If I still don't understand, I'll ask my physics teacher."

Seeing how hard she was trying to steer the conversation, I felt a little sorry for her.

"So, teacher, is there something you need?"

"Haha, it's nothing. I just came in through the back door and saw you studying. That's great, you're excellent!"

Does "excellent" mean not even solving the first problem? This world's definition of "excellent" is truly kind...

Seeing that I didn't respond, Xiao Lai finally asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Oh right, the message I sent this morning, was it a joke?"

"That one? Haha."

No, if I had the chance, I would really like to delete my save file and start over.

"Is everything alright at home and in your daily life?"

I don't think so.

I've been quite busy lately. Whether it's joining clubs, making friends, spending time with my sister, or being mistaken for a gay man—or rather, I feel like I've been forced to do a lot of ridiculous and stupid things.

“You seem a bit quiet lately…” Xiao Lai’s face was full of worry. “Are you under a lot of pressure lately? It must be tough renting a place alone. Are you eating and sleeping well?”

"What's so hard about this? It's much better than sleeping in a 24-hour convenience store, and even happier than sleeping at the airport."